The Goodrich Saginaw 12 in Saginaw, Michigan closed January 12, 2014 and was replaced on Thursday, January 16, 2014 by the all-new Goodrich Quality 10 + GDX that was built next door. The new theater even takes the old theater's address of 3250 Kabobel Drive, near the intersection of Bay Rd. and Tittabawassee.

The theater's opening night featured a ribbon cutting and a fundraiser with movie admissions of $1, with soft drinks and popcorn available for $1 each as well. All proceeds benefitted Covenant Kids, a non-profit fund for regional kids. Current movies at regular prices began the following evening, January 17, 2014.

While the new theater has two less screens, moviegoers may enjoy the fact that the screens are now larger and better equipped. One of the new screens is what Goodrich Quality Theaters is called their "GDX (Giant Digital Experience) Auditorium," which boasts a 70-foot wide screen "almost 4 stories tall" and illuminated by dual Barco projectors, which should provide a nice bright image on the large screen. A Dolby Atmos sound system with almost 50 speakers will truly surround moviegoers with sound (if the movie is encoded with Dolby Atmos vs. traditional 5.1 channel sound found on most all mainstream releases -- read the Help text for more info).

Their press release also mentions that two other auditoriums will have screens that measure 56 feet wide and also feature Dolby Atmos.

“Our GDX auditorium is our large premium format theater that will have a giant screen and breathtaking Dolby Atmos sound,” says Bob Goodrich, owner of Goodrich Quality Theaters. “We will also have two adjacent theaters with 56-foot wide screens also featuring Dolby Atmos sound, our large screens are phenomenally greater in scope than the theaters people have seen in Saginaw at this point. The smallest screen in this new 10-plex is going to be 36-feet wide, which is about the size of our third largest screen in the current Saginaw 12,” adds Bob Goodrich.

The math on the GDX screen size doesn't quite work out, because "4 stories tall" usually equates to "40 feet tall", but in order for the screen to have the proper 2.35:1 ratio for showing movies in that aspect ratio (think epic action/adventure movies), the screen should be about 30 feet tall if it is 70 feet wide. That makes us concerned that they have sized the screen for "flat" movies, which are 1.85:1, because 70 / 1.85 = ~38 feet tall. While that aspect ratio matches movies like The Nut Job (an animated comedy) perfectly, it means that movies like Gravity and the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be letterboxed, just like your TV at home. We'll reach out to Goodrich Quality Theaters to find out some specifics and update this with better information if it is available.

Update: The theater responded to me via their Facebook page and said that the GDX screen is approximately 38 feet high, and when showing 2.35:1 movies, they do not fill the height of the screen. This is unfortunate, as it makes their screen more like your TV than a traditional movie theater screen. Widescreen/'scope' (~2.35:1) movies are meant to be shown wider than 'flat' movies, and theaters like this cannot show them that way.

The press release also mentions the following amenities at the new theater:

Spacious lobby with massive box office and concession stand

Added concession items include pizza and hot dogs

Self-serve drink refill stations

Self-serve ticket counters (optional to use)

Multiple private party and meeting rooms

Personal closed captioned devices

Updated state of the art assistive listening devices with stereo sound amplification and descriptive narration (when data is available)

If you would like to see what's playing at the new theater, check out their Showtimes page to see what's playing and when!

Reader Comments

Please Note: These comments are submitted by the readers of The BigScreen Cinema Guide and represent their own personal opinions, and do not represent the views of The BigScreen Cinema Guide, or any of its associated entities.

Jan 23, 2014 - George Jobson

I've been to Saginaw 12 while I live in Saginaw from 1984 to 1987. I didn't know until now that Saginaw 12 is going to be replaced. Now I know.

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